Mick McCarthy refused to criticise Richard Keogh over the road traffic incident that could rule him out for 15 months.
Keogh was a passenger in a car crash which resulted in his Derby County teammates Mason Bennett and Tom Lawrence being arrested for drink-driving.
The Republic of Ireland manager was irked by the amount of criticism that he felt was directed at Keogh, saying that he is "a wonderful player and great bloke."
“He’d been out for a drink with the lads. He’s the captain of the team. He’s got in the car with him and he didn’t expect to be in such a state at the end of that journey home.
“People make decisions and we’ve got to live with them, unfortunately. I read somewhere where it’s great footballers think they can do what they want. No, they don’t.
“They’re just young men who go out for a drink and make decisions and actually they make mistakes like everybody else does.
“They are then highlighted and judged far more than other people,” McCarthy commented.
"They're just young men who go out for a drink, and actually make mistakes like everybody else does. They're then highlighted and judged far more than other people."
Mick McCarthy talks #Keogh - for more: https://t.co/QAZzazilm8 pic.twitter.com/rArdq9ZAIg— Off The Ball (@offtheball) October 1, 2019
Keogh was expected to feature for Ireland in both the Euro 2020 qualifiers and the finals of the tournament if Ireland were to make it.
However, there is no possibility of Keogh featuring for the Republic of Ireland now at the Euros and, at the age of 33, he may struggle to come back.
“I’m disappointed he’s not playing in any other games. No, it’s like I’ve said, he’s done something and now he’s got to live with it.
“They are role models and they are influencers on social media and things like that… And that’s why they get penalised far more.
“Penalised by the public, penalised by the rules, penalised the police and everybody else when they do something wrong,” McCarthy said.
For now, McCarthy’s attention will be focused on Georgia, who Ireland take on in Tbilisi on October 12th, as they look to build on their good results so far.
